The final was held on Thursday 16 April, with ten singers performing before an esteemed panel of judges including soprano Sophie Bevan MBE, bass-baritone Neal Davies, and Sinfonia Smith Square Founder Director Simon Over.

Established in 2008, the Peter Hulsen Orchestral Song Award is a biennial competition for outstanding young singers at the start of their professional careers. The award is named after the late Peter Hulsen, a devoted music lover and longstanding supporter of Sinfonia Smith Square.

Peter Hulsen came to England on one of the last Kindertransport trains out of Germany. He found great consolation in classical music and its enduring spirit, reflected in the work of young artists who champion it.

In his lifetime, it was his wish to establish an award offering young voices the opportunity to perform with orchestra. It has been Sinfonia Smith Square’s honour to make this happen every alternate year.

Previous winners of the award, including Lotte Betts-Dean, Soraya Mafi, and Gavan Ring, have gone on to have successful international careers, performing title roles with leading opera companies such as English National Opera, Bavarian State Opera, and the Royal Opera House.

Charlotte Jane Kennedy is the 9^th recipient of the award, impressing the judges with a performance of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville Summer of 1915. A member of the Royal College of Music International Opera School, she is currently studying with Janis Kelly. Recent performance highlights include Sandrina in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Vixen in Janáček‘s The Cunning Little Vixen, and Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.